This invention relates to a fireplace enclosure, in general, and, more particularly, to an assembly that includes glass doors with a screen placed in front of the doors, with both the doors and screen covering the fireplace opening.
During the operation of a fireplace, hot gases rising from the fire will draw large amounts of heated air out of a room, and discharge the heated air up the chimney of the fireplace. Normally, during the active combustion of wood in a fireplace, the loss of heated air from the room is generally compensated by the heat convected and radiated out of the fireplace by the burning wood, and into the room. Accordingly, during active combustion, there tends not to be any great heat loss caused by the fire, and, for aesthetic reasons, it is preferred to leave the fireplace open rather than sealing the fireplace with glass doors.
After the fire has completely died out, it is common to close the damper of the fireplace chimney in order to prevent the loss of heat from the room up the chimney. However, it is not possible to close the damper until the fire has completely died out. Thus, during the period between active combustion and the fire's being completely extinguished, there is a period of time where the damper must remain open and substantial heat loss occurs from the room up the chimney. In addition to unwanted heat loss up the chimney, there is also the substantial danger of a down draft, which might result in forcing ashes out of the fireplace and into the room.
In order to obviate the problem of heat loss up the chimney, when a fire has died down, but is not totally extinguished, various mechanisms have been developed for sealing the fireplace opening. The most popular of these mechanisms is glass doors, which are mounted in the fireplace opening. The doors are pivotable in a frame mounted in the opening, and they can be opened during active combustion of the fire. However, when the glass doors are open, it is necessary that a screen be provided to prevent any of the ashes from flying out of the fire and into the room. The screen is generally mounted interiorly of the glass doors, and is suspended from a traverse rod. The screen can be opened, in the nature of a drapery, in order to place wood in the fireplace and light the fire, and can be closed when the fire is in active combustion. After the fire has died down, in order to prevent heat loss up the chimney, the glass doors are closed.
An alternative to the use of permanently installed glass doors is disclosed in Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,032. In that patent, a foldable shield is disclosed, which is removable during active combustion of the fire. A free-standing fireplace screen is placed in front of the active fire, and when the active fire has died out, the shield is placed over the opening, and held in place by the frame of the free-standing screen.
The free-standing screens are placed on the hearth, in front of the fire, and serve the function of preventing any ashes from flying into the room. The screens usually have three or four panels, which are hinged together to permit them to be folded into a flat condition and removed so that the fireplace can be filled with wood and the fire ignited. Thereafter, the screen is returned to its position in front of the active fire. Designs for the free-standing screens, in both the three and four panel configurations, are shown in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 286,322 and Des. 288,712. Applicant is a co-inventor in both of these patents.
One of the problems with the permanent glass doors, which are now in common usage, is that the screen curtain behind the glass doors presents a hazard for young children. If they should be in the room and inadvertently fall against the screen curtain, they will not be prevented from falling into the fire. Although it is possible to have free-standing screens in front of the glass doors, to prevent the hazard of a child's falling into the fire, the free-standing screens must be physically removed and folded in order to place wood in the fireplace and start the fire.
One of the features of this invention is that a combination of glass doors and a screen in front of the glass doors is provided. However, rather than having the screen as a free-standing screen, it is mounted in place in front of the glass doors, and it has doors which are pivotably openable. This provides all of the advantages of the glass doors and the free-standing screen, without the disadvantage of having to remove the screen and fold it, during the placement of wood in the fireplace and the starting of the fire.
In another aspect of this invention, a safety latch is provided to maintain the screen in its closed position, thereby preventing a small child from getting close to the fire. The screen cannot be pivoted from its closed position, unless the latch is released. The latch is positioned in such a way that a small child will be unable to reach it, or if the child could reach it, the child would not have sufficient dexterity to open the latch.
In yet another aspect of this invention, a removable arch insert is provided to give the frame surrounding the fireplace doors an arcuate appearance at the top. Presently, whenever an arch shape is desired for the frame on fireplace doors, the arch is formed as an integral part of the frame. This can prove to be quite costly, since the glass in the fireplace doors must be cut with an arcuate upper edge, rather than using rectangular pieces of glass of standard dimensions. Various shapes can be provided for the arch insert, and the inserts can easily be changed. This permits the owner of the fireplace enclosure to vary the appearance of the enclosure, at minimal cost.